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Global Air Quality and Health

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2021) | Viewed by 5844

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Chubu Institute for Advanced Studies, Chubu University, 1200 Matsumoto-cho, Kasugai, Aichi 487-8501, Japan
Interests: environmental health impact assessment of air pollution; environmental toxicology and health risk assessment; aerosols and bioaerosols; atmospheric chemistry and physics; receptor model source apportionment for air quality management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Despite past remediation efforts made with respect to air quality, large sectors of the population in urban areas breathe air that does not meet European standards, let alone the health-based World Health Organization (WHO) Air Quality Guidelines. Over the last 10 years, there has been a significant rise in consequences because particulate matter (PM) air pollution is not only having a greater effect on ascertained health endpoints, but is also connected to a broader number of disease outcomes. According to the WHO, about 7 million people die every year from exposure to fine particles in polluted air that penetrate deep into the lungs and cardiovascular system, inducing diseases such as stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and respiratory infections including pneumonia. Ambient air pollution alone instigated some 4.2 million deaths in 2016, whereas household air pollution from cooking with polluting fuels and technologies triggered an estimated 3.8 million deaths in the same period. The WHO indicates that air pollution is a crucial risk factor for noncommunicable diseases, affecting an estimated one-quarter (24%) of all adult deaths from heart disease, 25% from stroke, 43% from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and 29% from lung cancer. As the world becomes hotter and more crowded, our engines compensate by pumping out dirty emissions, and half the world has no access to clean fuels or technologies (e.g., stoves, lamps). The very air we breathe is becoming severely polluted, in that 9 out of 10 people now breathe polluted air.

This Special Issue of MDPI’s International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) puts an emphasis on the current state of knowledge about the relations between air quality and public health. Original research papers, reviews, case reports, and papers of conference are welcome to this issue. Research articles dealing with new advances in developing air quality standards or risk assessment and management are also welcome. We are accepting manuscripts from different disciplines including the speciation and distribution of chemical species of particulate matter (fine and ultrafine particles), exposure assessment science, epidemiology, intervention studies, risk and health impact assessment, and impact of bioaerosols (including viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2) on human health. We look forward to your contributions to this Special Issue of IJERPH.

Dr. Dharmendra Kumar Singh
Guest Editor

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Air pollution
  • Aerosol and bioaerosol
  • Health risk assessment
  • PM toxicity
  • Emerging risks
  • Public awareness
  • Air quality communication
  • Environmental immunology
  • Environmental microbiology
  • Phytoremediation

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1739 KiB  
Article
Understanding Tourist Behavioural Intention When Faced with Smog Pollution: Focus on International Tourists to Beijing
by Wenjia-Jasmine Ruan, Junjae Lee and Hakjun Song
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(14), 7262; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18147262 - 7 Jul 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2030
Abstract
This study examines the behavioural intentions of international tourists travelling to Beijing when faced with smog pollution. An extended MGB (model of goal-directed behaviour) was employed as the theoretical framework by integrating mass-media effect and perception of smog. The role of mass-media effect [...] Read more.
This study examines the behavioural intentions of international tourists travelling to Beijing when faced with smog pollution. An extended MGB (model of goal-directed behaviour) was employed as the theoretical framework by integrating mass-media effect and perception of smog. The role of mass-media effect and perception of smog were considered as new variables in the international tourist’s decision-making process for travel to Beijing. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed to identify the structural relationships among research variables. Our research results showed a strong correlation between positive anticipated emotion and desire. The mass-media effect is a significant (direct) predictor of both the perception of smog and behavioural intention. The Chinese government could attach great importance to the mass-media effect to reduce the negative impact caused by smog pollution on inbound tourism. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Air Quality and Health)
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12 pages, 1344 KiB  
Article
Short-Term Effects of Particulate Matter and Its Constituents on Emergency Room Visits for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Time-Stratified Case-Crossover Study in an Urban Area
by Yii-Ting Huang, Chien-Chih Chen, Yu-Ni Ho, Ming-Ta Tsai, Chih-Min Tsai, Po-Chun Chuang and Fu-Jen Cheng
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(9), 4400; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094400 - 21 Apr 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2690
Abstract
Background: PM2.5 exposure is associated with pulmonary and airway inflammation, and the health impact might vary by PM2.5 constitutes. This study evaluated the effects of increased short-term exposure to PM2.5 constituents on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)-related emergency department (ED) [...] Read more.
Background: PM2.5 exposure is associated with pulmonary and airway inflammation, and the health impact might vary by PM2.5 constitutes. This study evaluated the effects of increased short-term exposure to PM2.5 constituents on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)-related emergency department (ED) visits and determined the susceptible groups. Methods: This retrospective observational study performed in a medical center from 2007 to 2010, and enrolled non-trauma patients aged >20 years who visited the emergency department (ED) and were diagnosed as COPD. Concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, and the four PM2.5 components, including organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), nitrate (NO3), and sulfate (SO42−), were collected by three PM supersites in Kaohsiung City. We used an alternative design of the Poisson time series regression models called a time-stratified and case-crossover design to analyze the data. Results: Per interquartile range (IQR) increment in PM2.5 level on lag 2 were associated with increments of 6.6% (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.5–13.0%) in risk of COPD exacerbation. An IQR increase in elemental carbon (EC) was significantly associated with an increment of 3.0% (95% CI, 0.1–5.9%) in risk of COPD exacerbation on lag 0. Meanwhile, an IQR increase in sulfate, nitrate, and OC levels was not significantly associated with COPD. Patients were more sensitive to the harmful effects of EC on COPD during the warm season (interaction p = 0.019). The risk of COPD exacerbation after exposure to PM2.5 was higher in individuals who are currently smoking, with malignancy, or during cold season, but the differences did not achieve statistical significance. Conclusion: PM2.5 and EC may play an important role in COPD events in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Patients were more susceptible to the adverse effects of EC on COPD on warm days. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Air Quality and Health)
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